Nepotism Ordinance Approved

July 18, 1986|By TOM LASSITER, Staff Writer

NORTH LAUDERDALE -- An ordinance that will ban the hiring of individuals who have family members -- blood relatives and in-laws -- on the city payroll or holding elected office was tentatively approved by the City Council on Wednesday.

City Manager Eric Soroka said the prohibition has been under consideration for at least one year, but that a recent event involving a police officer ``had something to do`` with the drafting of the ordinance.

Soroka was referring to a former North Lauderdale police officer who had been screened and recommended for the job by his father-in-law, a sergeant.

The officer resigned shortly after an incident in which he and another North Lauderdale officer shot two men during a car chase.

Soroka said eight of the 175-member city work force have family ties covered by the new hiring prohibition. None will be affected by the new ordinance, and he is not aware of any job applicants or individuals on the current civil service hiring list who will be affected, Soroka said.

``I don`t want to be in the position where I hear that that person got hired because they`re related to that person,`` Vice Mayor Carl Fusco said. ``You still hear that.``

Council members Jerry Resnick and Gary Saiet initially expressed reservations, although they voted for the ordinance.

Resnick suggested the city might instead prohibit employees from positions in which they would be supervised by a relative.

Saiet agreed that the prohibition might be too drastic a response to what Soroka said is an unfounded public perception.